Flying toy



I Ju'ly3, 1928.

J. 'CALVO FLYING TOY Filed Jan. 18; 1927 a Sheets-Sheet 1 gmnmtoz 6 cl("a 27/0 July 3, 1928. 1,675,970 J. CALVO FLYING TOY Filed Jannla 1927:s Sheets-Sheet July3,1928. 1,675,970

J. CALVQ FLYING TOY Filed Jan. 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July3, 1928.

JOSE CALVO, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FLYING TOY.

Application filed January 18, 1927. Serial No. 161,833.

This invention relates to toys and more particularly to a flying toyincluding a projectile and a catapult, through the medium of which theprojectile may have movement imparted to it and caused to sail throughthe air. At the present time flying toys are in use but they have beenfound unsatisfactory as the direction in which they travel cannot becontrolled and as a general rule they move straight away from theoperator and drop upon the ground at some distance from him. This notonly makes it necessary for the operator to walk over to the fallenprojectile and pick it up but also there is danger of the projectilelanding in water or a mud puddle and becoming spoiled if used outdoors.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide a flying toyincluding a projectile which when discharged from a catapult may becaused to travel in a substantially circular path and return to theoperator before striking the ground.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the projectile thatby proper adjustment it may be caused to move either to ward the rightor toward the left after leaving the operator.

Another object of the invention is to permit the projectile to travelstraight away from the operator if so desir'ed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catapult which may beemployed to discharge the projectile and also for catching it when itreturns to the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catapult havingaresilient body and carrying an elastic or expansible projectile engagingelement so' that, when the projectile is released, it may have movementimparted to it both by the resiliency of the body of the catapultandalso by the elasticity of the projectile engaging element.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flying toy, theprojectile of which may be formed of paper, cardboard, or thin metal andthereby cheaply produced.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. whereinFigure 1 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the movement of theprojectile when discharged from the catapult;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one form of projectile;

F ig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the pro jectile shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a top plan View of a form of projectile;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the projectile shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line S-8 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating a modified form ofbill which may be employed in place of the bills shown in Figs. 3 and 7;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating another modifiedform of bill;

Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view of another modified form of projectile;

F 12 is a bottom plan view jectile shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 13-13 of Fig.12;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line14-14 of Fig. 11 and illustrating a form of bill and the manner ofconnecting it with the head portion of the projectile;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a form of projectile intended to travelstraight away from the operator;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of one form of catapult by means of whichthe projectile may be discharged;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary perspective view of a catapult provided with amodified form of projectile-engaging element, and

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a modified form of catapult.

The flying toy includes a catapult which is indicated in general by thenumeral 1 in Fig. 1 and adapted to be held by the operator in one handwhile the projectile 2 is engaged with an elastic or resilient membercarried by the catapult and discharged so that it moves through the air.By an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be seen that the projectile may becaused to travel in a circular path after leaving the catapult andmodified of the proreturn to the operator. The projectile is ofrelatively light Weight and is preferably formed of cardboard, celluloidor sheet meta1. One form of projectile has been illustrated in Figs. 2,3, 4L and 5. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that theprojectile has been shaped to resemble a bird with spread wings andincludes a body portion 3 having a head portion 4, a tail portion andside wings 6. Thesheet of material from which the projectile is formedis curved transversely and longitudinally throughout its length andwidth, asshown in Figs. 4 and 5, and is, therefore, of a concavo-convexformation throughout its entire area. This is very important as theconcavo-convexed formation causes the projectile to move in a circularpath when discharged from a catapult. The whole body, wings and tail areintegral and the whole device serves to support and guide itself inflight. The upper and lower surfaces of the sheet may be painted orotherwise marked to represent a bird or left plain. The tail portion 5is forked to provide stabilizers 7 and is crimped longitudinally toprovide a skid fin 8 which tapers forwardly and is substantially V-shapein cross section, as shown in Fig. 5. Since the projectile is formed ofcardboard or other bendable sheet material, the forked portions 7 of thetail may be bent so that one extends upwardly and the other downwardlyat a slight angle instead of horizontally, as shown in Fig. 5,orboth'may be bent to extend either upwardlv or downwardly. Byproperlybending the forked portions of the tail the path iii-which theprojectile travels after being discharged from the catapult may becontrolled and the projectile caused to follow a circular path which maybe "either to the right or left of the operator or aloop. A bill 9 iscar ried by the head portion l of the body and projects from the underface thereof in a rearward direction. I Figs. 3 and a consists of astrand of wire suitably anchored to the head and is intended to engage aresil ent member 10 formingra part of the'c'atapult so that when thecatapult is held in one hand and theprojectile held in the other handwith its bill engaging the resilient member 10 a stretching action maybe applied to extend the resilient member and the projectile thenreleased so that contraction of the resilient member will cause the proectile to be discharged through the air. The catapult will be morefullydescribed hereinafter.

In Figs. (3, 7 and 8, there has been illustrated a modified form ofprojectile. The projectile shown in these figures is also formed of aconcavo-convexed sheet of material, the upper and lower surfaces ofwhich are pointed to representan aeroplane of the monoplane type havingan elongated body The bill illustrated in Y 11 provided with a headportion 12 and tail portion 13. The portion of the sheet forming thetail is forked to provide stabilizers 14, corresponding to thestabilizers 7, and crimped longitudinally to form a skid tin 15,corresponding to the skid fin 8. The plane 17 indicated by the front andrear lines 18 inscribed across the body and projects therefrom to formthe wings 19 of the aeroplane. This form of projectile which constitutesa representation of an aeroplane of the monoplane type may also have itsforked tail portions bent to cause it to circle in either a right orleft hand direction or execute a loop when discharged from the catapult.The bill for this form of projectile may consist of a sheet metal base20 secured against the under face of the head 12 and carrying a wireprong 21 which projects downwardly and rearwardly from the plate or thebill may be formed as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 instead of as shown inFig. 7. Thebill shown in F 9 is provided wth a base 22 which is pre'erably circular in shape, although it may be of any shape desired, andis cemented or otherwise secured to the head 12 and carries a prong 23which projects from its center and is of sufficient length to engage theresilient member 10 of the catapult. In the form shown in Fig. 10, thebase 24 may be secured to the head by a suitable adhesive or by means ofspurs formed integral with its arms and passed through the material ofthe head. The bill 25 in punchec. out of the material of the base andpressed downwardly to extend in spaced relation to the base rearwardlyof the body 11.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13, there has been shown a further modified form ofprojectile which is also formed of sheet material, such as celluloid orcardboard, and consists of a eoncavo-convexed body portion 26 reduced inwidth intermediate its length as shown form of projectile isconstructed, as shown in Fig. 14. Referring to this figure, it will beseen that plates 34 and 35 are fitted against the upper andlower facesof the head portion 31 and are formed with openings through which thearms 36 and 37 of a wire strand 38 are passed. The arm 36 has 4 its freeend portion 39 clinched against the plate 34L and the arm 37 is bentforwardly and downwardly over the forward edge of the plate 34 andcurved to provide a-bill intended to engage the resilient member 10 ofthe catapult. It will, course, be understood that bills, such aspreviously described, may be substituted for the specific type of billshown in Figs. 11 and 1.3 if so desired.

In Fig. 15, the projectile is a representation of an arrow and includesan elongated flat body portion 11 having its forward end portion widenedand tapered to provide a head 42, against the under face of which a bill4-3 is secured. The rear portion of the bodyis forked to formstabilizers 44C, corresponding to the stabilizers previously described,and adapted to be bent upwardly or downwardly but preferably left in ahorizontal plane so that the arrow will move straight away from theoperator and may be projected towards a suitable target if so desired. Atriangular skid fin is carried by the body adjacent the forward ends ofthe tail forks 4 and is formed with a base flange 46 which projects fromone side and is glued or otherwise secured against the upper face of thebody. This skid fin serves to prevent transverse movement of the bodyduring flight and makes it easier to hita target toward which theprojectile is fired.

The catapult by means of which the various forms of projectilesdescribed are to be fired may be formed of light wood, heavy cardboardor sheet metal and includes a iody portion 47 which is reduced intermediate its length to form a hand grip 48 and has its upper end portionprovided with side recesses 49 and a center recess 50 which leads fromits upper edge. The center recess flares outwardly, as clearly shown inFig. 16, so that, when a projectile is fired, the bill portion will notbe liable to catch in the recess. A rubber band 51 is disposed about theupper end portion of the body 47 with portions extending across. thecenter recess and adapted to be engaged by the bill of the projectile.Either the forward or the rear or both portions of the elastic band maybe engaged with the bill of the projectile, but in the preferred methodof operation only one portion of the elastic band will be engaged withthe bill. After the bill is engaged with the elastic band, the righthand which grasps the rear portion of the projectile is moved away fromthe left hand holding the catapulta sufficient distance to stretch theelastic and the projectile is then released from the right hand. lVhenreleased, the elastic contracts and this will cause the projectile to bemoved forwardly and discharged from the catapult at a rapid rateofspeed. If an arrow-shaped pro jectile is discharged. it will move in astraight line forwardly away from the operator but if a concavoconvexedprojectile representing a bird or aeroplane is discharged it will travelin a circle, as shown in Fig. 1, and return to the operator. If desired,a coiled spring 52 may be substituted for the elastic. band 51 and haveone end wedged into the lower end portion of the center recess and thebill hooked into one of its convolutions or into a hooked portion formedat its rear end. By having the catapult formed as described above theprojectile may be discharged with great deal of force as the contractionof the elastic band or coiled spring and the resiliency of the strip'ofsheet material from which the body portion of the catapult is formedwill both serve to impart forward movement to the projectile.

In order to catch a circling projectile when it returns to the operator,the catapult may be provided with a pocket 53, as shown in Fig. 17. Thispocket is formed of light paper and provided with crimped side portionsglued or otherwise secured to the body of the catapult. \Vhen pressureis applied to the sides of the pocket, its front and side portions willbe moved away from the catapult to open the front of the pocket andafter sutlicient practice the projectile may be caught in the pocket.

In Fig. 18, there has been shown a modilied form of catapult. In thisform the catapult. is preferably formed of resilient sheet material andincludes forward and rear sections 54 and 55 which are joined at theirlower ends and preferably formed from a single blank of material foldedintermediate its length. The side portions of the two sections arerecessed near the lower end of the catapult, as shown at 56, to providea hand-hold 57 and their upper end portions are formed with siderecesses 58, corresponding to the recesses 49, and with center recesses59, corresponding to the center recess 50. A pad 60 which is preferablyformed of rubber but may consist of a coiled spring if so desired issecured against the inner face of the forward section 54 and engages therear section so that when a projectile has been fired and pressureagainst the two sections is relieved they may move apart and form apocket into which the projectile is to be caught. It should also benoted that when a concavoconvexed projectile is discharged and moves ina circular path it is necessary to follow it with the eye in order tocatch it when it returns to the operator. This will exercise andstrengthen the eyes of the operator.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A flying toy comprising a projectile formed from a single piece ofsheet material and having a body provided with head, wing and tailportions, the projectile being of a concavo-convexed formation andareahead, tail and Wing port-ions, the projectile being curvedlongitudinally and transversely throughout its area and the tail portionthereof being formed with a longitudinally extending depending skid fintapered forwardly, and a bill carried by the head portion for engaging aprojecting catapult.

4. A flying toy comprisinga projectile formed of a single piece of sheetmaterial and having a body provided with head, wing and tail portions,the tail portion being forked to provide stabilizers and crimpedlongitudinally toprovide a skid fin extending longitudinally of saidtail portion and tapered to its forward end, and a bill extending fromthe head portion for engagement with a projecting catapult.

5. A flying toy comprising a projectile having head, tail and wingportions, the tail portion being crimped longitudinally to form adepending skid fin tapered forwardly and having side portions divergingupwardly.

.6. A flying toy comprising a projectile having a body formed with head,tail and wing portions, and a bill including a strand of wire extendinglongitudinally of the head beneath the same and having front and rearend portions passed upwardly through the head, the rear end portionbeing bent down against the head and the front end portion bentdownwardly over the front edge of-the head and rearwardly to form aprong for engagement with a catapult.

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSE CALVO. [1,. 5.]

